Facilities

Ports and all!

We recently produced a report for Port Taranaki detailing the economic impact and strategic importance of the Port to the Taranaki and New Zealand economy.

Basically, what this report presents is:

the impacts of the Port as a business in its own right;

the impacts of the businesses that use the Port and provide services to it; and,

the impacts of the Port on the wider regional economy.

BERL has undertaken this reporting every five years since 2007, making this instalment the third report in an ongoing monitoring framework.

Volumes and values through the Port

As we display below, the total volume of cargo moving through the Port has remained relatively stable since 2009.

Total cargo volumes (million tonnes) through Port Taranaki

The mix of cargoes passing through the Port has changed markedly since 2012. Oil and gas exploration and development activities have decreased, and this has affected the Port. There is no longer any container traffic through the Port. On the other hand, the volume of logs exported has increased, as has the volume of animal feedstuffs.

This change in the mix of cargo has had a marked effect in the total value of cargo moving through the Port as shown below.

Total cargo value ($million) through Port Taranaki

Port operations

Allowing for flow-on effects, the Port’s operations are estimated to generate $28 million in Value Added (GDP) the current year. They also generate 319 full-time equivalent jobs (FTEs).

The Port’s important enabling role can be seen from the estimates that its users and service providers are likely to generate $353 million in Value Added (GDP) the current year, and 929 FTEs.

The Port also plays an important role in other ways. It facilitates the imports and exports of the Region’s industries, the dividends it pays help to keep the Regional rates burden in check, and it sponsors and supports sporting and other social activities in the community.

Compared to previous years

Allowing for flow-on effects, the Value Added from the Port’s own operations remained broadly stable between 2007 and 2017, but the operations’ impact on employment has increased.

The Value Added from the activities of Port users and service providers has increased, but their impact on employment has decreased.

The economic impact of both the Port’s operations and the activities of Port users and service providers were greater in 2012 than in either 2007 or 2017. This somewhat complex finding reflects a combination of: the oil price being substantially higher in 2012 than in 2007, or today; the changing mix of cargoes through the Port; and, the changing composition of the activities of the Port users and service providers.

Despite its ups and downs, however, the Port remains a key part of the Taranaki economy, and it is likely to remain so.

For more information click here to read a recent stuff article about Port Taranaki.